Chapter 11 - You're My Ecstasy

The music stopped and Nick waited for the next song to come on. He waited for a couple of minutes until he realized something was wrong - Brian was no where to be seen.

Nick looked over at a crowd that was gathering in the center of the dance floor. He pushed hus way forward until he saw who was on the floor.

Sarah.

He fell by her side and held he limp hand. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open. Nick looked up to the Paramedic that was checking Sarah's blood pressure.

The man shook his head.
"Drugs," he let go of her arm and pulled her onto the stretcher. "Are you her boyfriend?" he asked Nick.
Nick nodded slowly, taking deep breaths, trying to take in what was happening.
"Well then you'd better come with us," one of the Paramedics took Nick's arm and led him to the ambulance.

As Nick climbed in with Brian as his company, he asked them. "She will be okay, won't she?"
The Paramedic grimly smiled. "Let's hope so," she whispered and shut the ambulance's door.

The police had turned up and were checking everyone over for the drugs. All the 60 people who had been in the night club were leaning against the club's wall, their backs to the officers, legs slightly apart and hands on the wall in front.

After an hour checking, everyone was give all the clear. Officer Manson sat in his car, feet on the dash board, lighting a cigar in his mouth. He took a puff and sighed.

"It's such a waste of life," he told the officer by him.

The officer by him, Officer Brennan, nodded his head in agreement. They had both spent an hour checking over 60 people, and none of them were carrying drugs. The only person they hadn't checked was her boyfriend, his friend and the girl herself.

Officer Brennan rang the number which he was holding on a piece of scrap paper. Ringing the parents was always the hard part of his job.

Nick sat by Sarah's bed, holding her hand. He had been sitting in the sama position for the last three hours, trying to work out why Sarah had taken the drugs. She wasn't the sort of girl who would do drugs. But that's what's so strange about it all.

The rest of the boys had come down to the hospital and to see what was happening to Sarah. They told Nick that all 60 people were checked and no one was found with drugs. So maybe Sarah had taken drugs.

Then, Nick would get confused all over again, and go back to the beginning, go over and over in his mind what had happened in the last four hours.

The clock above Sarah's head struck three o' clock.

He wiped his tears as he looked at all the tubes and needles which were stucked in Sarah. The drugs had knocked her out cold, she was still breathing. By the time they had arrived at the hospital, she had slipped into a corner and was having trouble breathing on her own.

Fresh new tears rolled down Nick's face and splashed onto Sarah's arms. He smiled and thought about whant Sarah would probably say if she ever saw him crying to himself and holding someone's hand for over an hour. She'd probably said something like, 'Nick! Pull yourself together! You look like a brat!'. But maybe, in this case, crying over your girlfriend that you loved and cared was different. If it was Nick in that bed, Sarah would have done the same thing.

God, Nick though. I wish it was me there, not Sarah. I can't see her suffering like that. At this point he would do anything for Sarah to wake up. Anything, if it meant she will open her eyes -

There was a soft knock at the door which made Nick snapped back into the real world. Brian pushed the door open, armed with flowers in his arms. Nick smiled and pulled up another chair by him.

Brian placed the flowers in the vase on the table and sat down by Nick.
"So," he whispered. "Any changes?"
Nick sadly smiled and wiped his eyes. "No such luck Brian."

Brian kicked his shoes around, trying to find something to say to Nick. But what was he to say?
"By the way, Nick, I just so happened to spend some times with your girlfriend. But hey, can we be friends?"
No. Brian felt sick at the thought of Nick knowing. What would happen to their friendship? Brian was Nick idol, someone he looked up to. If he knew he was a cheater, if he knew he was a liar -

"You alright buddy?" Nick asked.
Brian gave him a strange look.
"Look at your face," Nick said.
Brian touched he face. He was crying.

"What do you mean 'we've tried everything we can'? There must be something you can do! You can't just leave a poor child in that room, dying!" Denise screamed.

The doctor was quite taken basck by her outburst but tried his best to assure her that she's not going to die tonight.

"So, what you're really saying is that she can die any other night, but not tonight?" AJ cried, throwing his arms in the air as he spoke.
"What do we pay you for? To sit on your asses and wait for something to happen?" he became impatient.

"It's not like that. We're pretty sure nothing bad will happen. She's not going to die. Not tonight, not any other nights. She's in a good condition," Doctor Owen assured.

Denise sat down, her head in her hands.
"My poor little girl," she mumbled over and over again.
AJ puts his arm around his mom. "She's going to be alright," he whispered.

"Nick, do you think she took the drugs?"

Stupid question, Brian thought when he asked Nick. He had to break the silence.

It was already two days Sarah was lying on the bed, eyes closed. Nick had been losing his mind and concentration. Every free time he had, he would come to the hospital and sit there for hours, holding her hands, stroking her hair and begging her to open her eyes.

Understandable, Brian thought. But Brian was one of those people who hated sitting in silence.

Nick shook his head. "I don't know anymore, Frick. She's been acting really weird lately."
Brian nodded.
"Do you think she took the drugs?" Nick asked him.
Brian shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Maybe, maybe not."
"I don't think she did," Nick voiced his opinion.

"Then how come she's lying in the hospital, struggling to breathe on her own, after suffering from ecstasy?"
"God, Brian!" Nick cried. "Do you have to be so graphic? I know she didn't take the druges. She's not like that."
"You never know Frack. You've only known her for a week or so," Brian reminded.

Nick stood up for the first time in two hours and streched his legs. Suddenly, realizing he was thirsty, he waslked out from the room and went to the Coke vending machine.

Seeing Nick was gone, Brian took this opportunity to talk to Sarah on his own. He sat in Nick's chair and took Sarah's hands.

"Sarah," he began. "I know I'm no saint and I know I'm not Nick, but please, just open your eyes. For me, for Nick, for everyone. Please?"

Brian let go of her hand and tugged at his jumper. It was never going to happen. She was not going to open her eyes. He was never going to see her brown eyes again, never going to see her smile, never -

"Mom?"

Brian looked over to the door. Nope, no one there. Great, now he was hearing voices.

"Where am I? Mom? Dad?"

Brian stood up. He wasn't scared. Of course not, Brian never got scared. Well, not in front of the lads, but he just felt - creepy, as though somebody was watching him.

"Brian? Is that you?"

Brian jumped and grabbed a magazine. He rolled it up to a bat and held it as a weapon.

"Who's there?" he called into the dark. Not that he was sitting in the dark, the room was just lighly dimed.

"Brian? What are you doing?"

"I'm not scared! What do you want?" Brian cried.
There was a laugh. "Just get me out of here! I hate hospitals!"

Brian started to back off, slowly walking backwards, towards the door.

"Look, I'm not scared of ghosts. I - I - I know you're not real. It's just my mind working overtime."

Brian smugly smiled, pleased of the explanation he had come up with for the voices in his head.

"Brian, I'm no ghost. It's me - Sarah."